Sessions

Article IV of the New Mexico Constitution establishes when the New Mexico State Legislature, of which the Senate is a part, is to be in session. Section 5 of Article IV states that the Legislature is to convene its annual regular session on the third Tuesday of January. In odd-numbered years, the Legislature is to be in session for no longer than sixty days. In even-numbered years, the Legislature is to be in session for no longer than thirty days. In even-numbered years, the Legislature is limited to dealing with budgetary matters, bills that deal with issues raised by special messages of the Governor of New Mexico, and bills vetoed in the previous session by the Governor.

Section 6 of Article IV allows the Governor of New Mexico to call special sessions of the Legislature. Section 6 also allows the Legislature to meet in special session when three-fifths of each house petition the Governor with a request for a special session. Special sessions are not to exceed thirty days in length.

2012

In 2012, the Senate was in session from January 17 through February 16.

Major issues

In their 30-day session the legislature considered drivers licenses for illegal immigrants, voter identification, business income tax, ethics reform, and defining homeowner rights in foreclosure proceedings.[6]

Gov.Susana Martinez (R) watched as the state legislature ended its session by rejecting a bill that would have repealed the law allowing drivers licenses to be issued to people without Social Security numbers. It was the third time she has tried to undo the law. The bill was initially passed by the House but defeated in the Senate. The Senate instead passed a measure shortening how long the licenses are valid and imposing harsher penalties on those committing fraud.[7]

2011

In 2011, the Legislature was in session from January 18 through March 19.[8]

Cost-benefit analyses

The Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative released a report in July 2013 indicating that cost-benefit analysis in policymaking led to more effective uses of public funds. Looking at data from 2008 through 2011, the study's authors found that some states were more likely to use cost-benefit analysis, while others were facing challenges and lagging behind the rest of the nation. The challenges states faced included a lack of time, money and technical skills needed to conduct comprehensive cost-benefit analyses. New Mexico was one of 29 states with mixed results regarding the frequency and effectiveness in its use of cost-benefit analysis.[13]

Ethics and transparency

Following the Money report

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer-focused nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., released its annual report on state transparency websites in April 2014. The report, entitled "Following the Money," measured how transparent and accountable state websites are with regard to state government spending.[14] According to the report, New Mexico received a grade of C+ and a numerical score of 77, indicating that New Mexico was "middling" in terms of transparency regarding state spending.[14]

Qualifications

Article 4, Section 3 of the New Mexico Constitution states: Senators shall not be less than twenty-five years of age and representatives not less than twenty-one years of age at the time of their election. If any senator or representative permanently removes his residence from or maintains :No Residence in the district from which he was elected, then he shall be deemed to have resigned and his successor shall be selected as provided in Section 4 of this article. No person shall be eligible to serve in the legislature who, at the time of qualifying, holds any office of trust or profit with the state, county or national governments, except notaries public and officers of the militia who receive no salary.

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the senate, the Board of County Commissioners in the county representing the vacant seat must appoint a replacement. There are no deadlines set by Article IV, Section 4 of the New Mexico Constitution which governs legislative vacancies. The appointed replacement serves for the remainder of the unfilled term.[20]

Redistricting

The New Mexico Legislature is responsible for redistricting. In 2011, it formed an 18-member interim redistricting committee to make recommendations for the actual redistricting process in the Legislature.

2010 census

New Mexico received its local census data on March 15, 2011. The state grew 13.2 percent from 2000 to 2010, with notable growth in its most populous cities; Albuquerque grew by 21.7 percent, Las Cruces grew by 31.4 percent, Rio Rancho grew by 69.1 percent, Santa Fe grew by 9.2 percent and Roswell grew by 6.8 percent.[21]

At the time of redistricting, Democrats controlled the Legislature while the Governor, Susana Martinez was a Republican. The interim committee reviewed eight House maps and nine Senate maps before the special redistricting session of the Legislature began on September 6, 2011. On September 21, the Senate passed a map on party lines, with the House following the next day. Gov. Martinez vetoed the maps on October 7, leaving a court to resolve the process. By the time new maps were passed, $8 million had been spent.[22]

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the New Mexico State Senate from 1992-2013.

Leadership

The Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico is the presiding officer of the Senate and in that capacity is referred to as President of the Senate. However, the Lt. Gov can only vote in the case of a tie.

The Senate Committees' Committee exercises leadership and administrative control of the Senate. The committee is chaired by the president pro tempore and is made up of majority and minority
leaders.[24][25]

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

During every year from 1992-2013, the Democratic Party was the majority in the New Mexico State Senate. The New Mexico State Senate is 1 of 16 state senates that was Democratic for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013.

Across the country, there were 541 Democratic and 517 Republican state senates from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states had divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the New Mexico state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. New Mexico experienced two Democratic trifectas during the years of the study, from 1992-1994 and from 2003-2010. The state finished in the bottom-10 during every year of the study. Its worst ranking, finishing 50th, occurred from 1999-2000, during a divided government. Its best ranking, finishing 41st, occurred in 2008, during a Democratic trifecta.

Chart displaying the partisanship of the New Mexico government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).